|
Home News Forms Membership Conference Prairie Churches™ Prairie Places™ Most Endangered Honor Awards Local Affiliates Merchandise Database Newsletters
Member Login |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
A charitable bequest is simply a distribution from your estate to a charitable organization through your last will and testament. There are different kinds of bequests. For each, you must use very specific language to indicate the precise direction of your assets, and to successfully carry out your final wishes. In any charitable bequest, be sure to name the recipient accurately. In this instance, you would list Preservation North Dakota. Do you have an estate? Your "estate" is the sum of your assets, including property you own, insurance policies, retirement accounts, cash on hand, etc. Wealthy people may have very large estates, but even people who aren't wealthy often have the resources to make a charitable bequest. If every adult in America made a will and included a small bequest of just $100.00 to a qualifying charity, billions of dollars would flow to charitable causes every year. Below, we have listed some of the more common kinds of bequests, and some bequest language. REMINDER: We always recommend that you carefully review the terms of your will with a professional trained in handling trusts and estates. General Bequest is a legacy left to Preservation North Dakota that comes from the general value of your estate; it is made by designating a specific dollar amount, a particular asset or a fixed percentage of your estate to Preservation North Dakota. General bequests are the easiest type of bequest to leave and for charitable organizations to begin utilizing. General bequest language: "I give, devise, and bequeath to PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA, located in Buffalo, ND, the sum of $________(or a description of the specific asset), for the benefit of PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA and its general purposes." Specific Bequest is made when a particular item or property is bequeathed for a designated purpose. (i.e., a $5,000.00 legacy left to benefit the Hutmacher Farm, a project of Preservation North Dakota; or $25,000 left to benefit the grassroots grant program of Preservation North Dakota.) Specific bequest language: "I give, devise, and bequeath to PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA, located in Buffalo, ND, the sum of $_______ (or a description of a specific asset), for the benefit of PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA to be used for the following purpose: (state the purpose). If at any time in the judgment of the board of directors of PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA it is impossible or impracticable to carry out exactly the designated purpose, they shall determine an alternative purpose closest to the designated purpose." Residuary Bequests are made when you intend to leave the residue portion of your assets after other terms of the will have been satisfied. Residuary bequest language: "All the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, I give to PRESERVATION NORTH DAKOTA, located in Buffalo, ND, for its general purposes." Contingency Bequests allow you to leave a portion of your estate to a particular charity if your named beneficiary does not survive you. Contingency bequest language: "I devise and bequeath the residue of the property, real and personal and wherever situated, owned by me at my death, to (name of beneficiary), if (she/he) survives me. If (name of beneficiary) does not survive me, I devise and bequeath my residuary estate to PRESERVARTION NORTH DAKOTA, located in Buffalo, ND for its general purposes." Without a will, there is no mechanism in place to make a bequest, so here are the steps you should take to make sure your wishes are granted.
|
All content and images on this web site © 2002-2008 Preservation North Dakota
